Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia believes that the Philippines can hit upper-middle income status by next year.
By World Bank standards, upper middle income economies are those that have a gross national income per capita between $3,956 and $12,235.
Pernia is confident we would soon join our neighbors China, Thailand and Malaysia in the upper middle income category soon because GNI per capita is seen to hit over $4,000 next year.
Our current levels put us in the company of Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Indonesia in the lower middle-income group.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez added we should focus on our economy’s strengths – namely good revenue, good credit rating, and a budget deficit that is within expectations.
We should see past the clouds, he said, and appreciate the rainbow instead.
“Upper middle income” is a nice phrase to hear, indeed. It does not evoke uncertainty caused by soaring prices of goods and services, specifically rice and other food items. What record-high inflation rate of 6.4 percent in August? We are coming from an era of low inflation, Palace officials say. What P54-to-$1 exchange rate? Things could be worse, they add.
We should really not complain too much. That’s being a crybaby—no less than the Budget Secretary, Benjamin Diokno, said.
But statuses and classifications are just terms. The World Bank could call its income groups by any other name for its own purposes. For the greater lot of Filipinos, however, nomenclature has no value if they feel the pinch of difficult economic times from the time they rise to when they fall asleep.
We know our economic managers are doing everything they can to solve our difficulties. They should do so without belittling the sacrifices many are making. After all, for millions of Filipinos, economic woes are not just numbers and categories but real and compelling daily experiences.